Nuclear Power Plant threatens the fabled waves of Jeffreys Bay

SUPERTUBES BURIED UNDER SAND?

The famous waves at Supertubes, Jeffreys Bay and those made famous in Bruce Brown’s iconic move “The Endless Summer” may cease to exist if the proposed nuclear power plant is constructed at nearby Thuyspunt.

According to the Thuyspunt Nuclear Alliance Group , during the building of the power plant, 6.37 million m3 of sand will be pumped into the ocean. Just exactly how much sand is that?

Surfers and all those who benefit from surf tourism had better become concerned with the very scary reality that over 10 million tons of sand could be enough to completely bury the fabled Supertubes and Seal Point reefs for years to come.

(Above: 120 000 people formed a human chain in Germany in April to protest against the use of nuclear power)

The prevailing currents will carry the sand around the headland into St Francis Bay and nobody can actually say just how long enough sand to fill 2000 Olympic size swimming pools will take to scatter.

Eskom is also proposing to build pipelines or tunnels 2km out to sea which will be used to supply cooling water and to disperse the hot water from the power station.

Anybody who has witnessed the brutal and majestic power of a cold front that started brewing 1000 km away in the deep Southern Ocean will know that these pipelines will battle to survive.

The very ocean swells that have caused Jeffreys Bay to attain legendary status may ironically also cause the downfall of the proposed plan to build a 4000 mega watt nuclear power station in the area.

The same cold fronts that generate the waves at Supertubes, Jeffreys Bay may also prevent the proposed nuclear power station at Thuyspunt from being constructed

There are no plans as to how Eskom will build these pipelines or how the pipes will be secured to the sea bed.

Should they ever build this eyesore and destroy a highly important eco system, that act alone won’t stop the big winter waves from arriving and battering the new sand banks at Supertubes and inch by inch removing them. At the same time the waves could also humble these 2 km feats of engineering into submission.

(Is nuclear power really the solution to South Africa’s power needs? Many believe renewable energy is the way ahead for the country)

There is a real concern that future maintenance of the pipelines will result in a high likelihood of plant shutdown. And South Africa thought it had a problem with loose bolts shutting down Koeberg. This proposed power station could simply never be relied upon to produce uninterrupted power for the country.